Hoof Reading 3

1

2



3




4



5

Because the shod horse doesn't feel it's feet so well, in the UK we have become conditioned to seeing severe cases of thrush and thinking of them as normal and of little consequence. And if a thrushy, shod horse trips over a stone or goes a bit hoppy on a limestone track we blame the stones rather than our hoof care.

But it's not the stones at fault. Evolution (or God if you prefer) has given the horse feet that are capable of negotiating some of the toughest terrain on earth. When they are healthy. If your horse struggles with stones the very painful truth is that your horse is not in optimal health.

So apart from soreness over stones and the disgusting smell, why does thrush matter?

In very simple terms; a horse in pain from thrush won't use the back of their foot properly. The suspensory/concussion absorption mechanisms come out of use and the horse will become more prone to injury. The heel will start to contract and if this goes on long enough the horse may well get a diagnosis of 'navicular' in any one of it's many flavours.

Thrush is serious and it must be effectively treated.

The hooves in this blog

Hooves 1-3 as you can see have severe thrush, no. 4 isn't too clever but it's not as bad.

The hooves have been freshly trimmed (not by me) and the owner is concerned that the hooves may not be properly balanced.  Although photos can be misleading, I have to agree that there are areas of concern. 

Q What do you think of the hooves in these pictures?

Soaking hay - does it make that much difference?

Just briefly because it is 23.38 and I have to be up tomorrow at 05.00 .....

Grace has her hay soaked for a minimum of 12 hours and more usually 24, and post soak the hay is thoroughly rinsed under running water.

A kindly soul looked into her big brown eyes, was totally hypnotised and lobbed some unsoaked hay over her door.  And yes Grace did go lame and yes she also tied up. (Grace has EPSM).

Yet Grace can go out overnight into a huge field and come in just fine.  Our unsoaked hay is more detrimental to her than nightime turnout. - Note she goes out at dusk and comes in at dawn.

This wouldn't necessarily be true with different hay and turnout in a different field or the same conditions but different horse.  So it is important to really know your horse and their hooves.  One 'size' does not fit all.

You are what you eat......

'House' reckons 'everybody lies'.  Me I think that is a little harsh, most of the people I meet are decent, honest folk doing their very best. Sometimes in very difficult circumstances. 

But sometimes people tell you what they think you want to hear.  And sometimes they think that a little white lie won't hurt.  Only with horses and their food, it often does. 

Most, if not all of the horses I have been kicked, bitten or otherwise bashed by have been having 'dietary issues'.  Usually sugar - once you have unpicked all the things going on - that is what it boils down to.

Take for example the horse that recently bit my head.  Yes my whole head, crocodile style.  The carer assured me the horse was on a low sugar diet. I accepted that, but I should have trusted the hooves which were not doing very well, and the behaviour which showed clear symptoms of dietary issues.

More about behaviour and sugar in a future post

. 

Deadly white powder, often cut with other substances

Some will swear it is ok in moderation, many can eat a fair bit and be absolutely fine, for others even a small amount is not so good.

Yes folks, today's post is about sugar :-)

The chemical formula for almost all sugars is CnH2nOn (n is between 3 and 7).  The last time I checked this holds true for organic sugar too..........  and yes organic sugar has the same number of calories and the same potential to rot your teeth and in excess upset the balance of your horse's hind gut.

As you know, horses have evolved to eat lots of low sugar, high fibre forage.  They are so good at it that they can survive in areas too harsh for cows and sheep.  Yes, get that, horses are tougher than cows or sheep.

In future posts I may get into more of the biology of why too much sugar is bad for our horses, but for now can I urge you to read the small print of what you are feeding your treasured friends.

As an example; - a feed shop near me is selling grass seed advertised as 'Suitable for low sugar pony paddocks.'  Well I read the label, it is over 70% Rye grass (seed) and when I checked out the varieties of Rye included (yes I am a geek), they average over 18% sugar in the growing season.  Now bearing in mind we are aiming for less than 10% - how the ? is that low sugar?  It certainly isn't suitable for horses or ponies.

Ditto various products marketed as safe for laminitics or 'low sugar'.  Don't read the marketing guff on the side of the bag (in the UK) look for the white label that should be stitched on (it often falls off).  This will detail how much sugar is in the bag, as well as listing the ingredients. And don't be fooled; many molasses free products aren't, instead they contain a modified form of molasses which has had a tiny bit of the sugar taken out.  But it is still sweet and sugary!

Some will argue that a bit of sugar never did any harm.  Well the owners of the horses with behavioural problems; that on a low sugar diet have transformed into paragons of good behaviour, but when slipped the odd carrot or bit of grass and turn into 'monsters' will argue otherwise :-)  Guys you know who you are! :-)

And let's not forget the LGL's sound on well soaked hay, but footy when not.

Hoof Reading 2

The owner of this horse told me that they were reassured when the attending farrier told them that the horse did not have laminitis.

Only a vet is allowed to diagnose, but like you, I think the horse is a strongly laminitic case, particularly as part of the back story is that it has presented in founder stance.

Only vets are allowed to diagnose though and when a farrier says 'no laminitis' who can blame a less experienced owner for believing them?

Certainly not me, I spent years believing all sorts of things I now realise were completely and utterly wrong and worse.

Sadly I don't know what is going to happen to this horse, I just hope and pray he will get the help he needs.

On a separate note, I haven't commented on the individual photos, but there are some interesting points. Anyone care to have a stab?

Hoof reading

I'm giving you just one photo. Tell me what you see. There is a huge amount of background to this with more photos, but first I want your views. So if you want more photos of this case you need to work a little for it! :-)

Sweet dreams - who said WBs can't go barefoot?

Wow! look at them go :-)

Tracks don't have to be over complicated

Someone (the local 'expert') confidently told me that warmbloods can't go barefoot. Fortunately these guys don't suffer ear mites.

Three warmbloods (only two shown) all barefoot, all confident over a variety of surfaces and having a blast now they can hack out without slipping. Their carer has been brilliant, an example to us all of how to do it. Lots of observation, an open mind and the horses' health always a priority.

And what a great track! Lucky lucky them, but for those without this blessing - these guys got good barefoot before they got the track. It can be done and you know what - I tend to find WB's make excellent barefooters. But just don't feed them 'junk' - it messes with their heads as well as their feet.

Hoof shape and shoes

Same hoof as previous; but solar view. Note how the widest part of the foot is moving towards the heel. You might find it hard to see, but the sole is increasing (slowly) in thickness and concavity. Also note how the frog has quickly widened and how it was somewhat cramped by the shoe.

30 05 11

24 07 11

11 08 11

Navicular and 'metabolic' - 10 weeks 3 days

By kind and generous permission of the carer.

Vets have given a 'Navicular' diagnosis.  Horse on presentation has very thin soles, fronts are running forward, heels are collapsed, bulbs pointy rather than full, toe wall has been rasped out in places, frog is squishy (but not rotten, just unused), digital cushion is undeveloped (on palpation) and there is some red in the white line. 

Subsequent trial and error shows the horse is sensitive to grass, probably oats and haylage.  Does better on night time turnout with soaked hay in the day.  Horse is on/off footy depending on circumstances but is generally improving.  Progress would probably be faster if 24/7 turnout on a grass free track could be provided.  But this carer has chosen to learn how to manage a tricky case, at livery, because long term they want to know how to provide for this horse.  Even so, and even with some set backs they are making progress.

In the photo array the first picture (top left) was taken 30/05/11, the last (bottom right) 11/08/11.  Can you see the differences?

No miracles here

Regular readers probably know that I write this blog (more accurately, sweat, bleed and salt the air - seeing as how I am not that IT literate) to provide some inspiration for people with more challenging horses and barefoot newbies.  Yeah and there is a bit of personal satisfaction too, let's not forget that.  I am only human and a pretty flawed one.

But I don't do it to parade 'miracles'.  All the horses on this blog are cared for either in livery or at home, with the exception of the odd rehab I had before I ever went pro.

And that is the point really, because it is the care that they receive that transforms these horses.  Not my trimming, not some super special feed or supplement, but a general holistic, horse centric care approach.

True, the tall horses need the length adjusted etc, but without proper care all I could achieve would be some pretty basic adjustments.  Some horses need a long period of rehabiliation and the carer may need advice on how to rehabiliate a hoof, but they should take the credit for any success because they are the ones who have delivered the care.

And yes, sometimes progress is a little slower than it could be because the owner is learning, but you know equally it is sometimes really really fast. And previous horse experience is not really any kind of guide.  What does count is putting the horse first and learning to 'read' them and respond appropriately.

So what I am trying to say is, when trawling the net and this blog in particular, as you peruse the before and after photos, just remember the only miracle at play is the miracle of mother nature.

More tall walls

Another day, another horse, another set of overly tall feet. 

This one came as a perpetual tripper.  I have never seen such an enormous jumpers bump (not pictured) on a medium heavy cob (and no he doesn't do any jumping).  Also camped under.  I suspect that this guy, being 20, is going to have more problems with reeducating his muscles than he will have with his new feet.

That's not to say the 'new' feet won't be noticed.  His heels will widen, the frog will come into use, breakover will come back, the proportions will change, the walls will get denser as will the sole.  How could all these changes not have an impact and not be felt?  Sometimes I wish the horses could talk to us - other times I am quite glad they can't.

Frog is tiny and not touching ground, heels are very tall

Heel is contracted, bars bent inwards,
 foot is 50/50 rather than 2/3 and 1/3

Wall much taller at quarters than toe

Height on opposite quarter

Comparison between shod and unshod height

This hoof has just been deshod.  Although there has been a significant shortening of the whole hoof capsule, over time it will get shorter still - and all to the good.



Before and after deshoeing, same day, same hoof


There are two ways in the above photos of comparing the differences between the before and after shots. The horizontal amber lines give an overall comparison of the height of the hoof before and after. 

The pairs of coloured lines show more detail.  Each colour pair is the same length and angle in both the before and after shots.  So the red line which marks the toe length, by being the same length and angle shows the difference in the hoof toe before and after.  The green line shows the change in height of the heel. The blue line joins the red to the green, showing their relationship to each other is the same in each photo.

And where did the extra height on the shod horse come from?

Not just the shoe but a lot of untrimmed hoof wall too.

Hoof wall is longer in toe than heel, tipping foot backwards

Well where do I start?

Apologies for lack of posts! So much to blog about I don't know where to start.

Thought you might find these interesting. Older horse, started tripping, shod 7 weeks ago. Clenches not risen at all.

1 Frog not touching ground,
 foot clearly peripheral loading

2 Note inverted 'V' of back of foot/heel bulbs &
detrius under toe of shoe

3 Note height of foot and nail holes in
relation to ground

4 Note narrowness of heels, and tiny frog

5 Compare with 1

6 Inverted 'V' very noticeable, heel too tall and contracted

7 Compare with 3 note excessive height

8 Compare with 4



9 Post trim, compare with 1 and 5



10 Post trim, compare with 4 and
7, note nail holes, multiple event lines and
 change in angle

11 Post trim and short road walk
 compare with 4 and 8, note dip in toe

This horse has quite hard feet, not bad at all for such a long time shod. But they are quite contracted, the frog hasn't been in contact with the ground for ages and there appears to be some dietary issues.

There have been lameness and tripping issues. Some related to the feet, but others ? Whatever happens, this guy is going to be able to move more comfortably now he is not on stilettos. I am expecting him to have a few good and a few bad days though as he gets used to his new feet, as they decontract and while we figure out what regime is going to suit him, especially as he has many of the symptoms of Insulin Resistance.

His owner is considering setting up a track and we may fit boots in order to be able to step up his exercise a little more sharply than we would otherwise.

Just 3 weeks later

And another 80km (50 miles old money), only this time all in one day.  (see hooves from one year ago and 3 weeks ago here.  And post the one day 80km ride the hooves look like this:

LFSR post Rufus 50m 2011

LHSR post Rufus 50m 2011

RFSR - post Rufus 50m 2011

RHSR - post Rufus 50m 2011

Ride conditions were wet and muddy. For those who worry about slipping/traction and the need for studs. This horse had minor slips, unlike the shod horse they rode with who slid down one bank on its bottom.

I think the effort that the owner has put into preparing this horse is really paying off. Confident on her feet, the work over varied terrain to build the hooves has also conditioned her body - both body and hooves look great, good structure and strength.

Seedy toe, abscess and 'false' sole ...........

Do you remember the somewhat spectacular toe crack? Well the path to hoof heaven is never a straight one and living in the UK makes it exceptionally wet and muddy too.

Mud and seedy toe can lead to abscess and so it did in this case.  But every cloud has a silver lining .........

The foot abscessed during the very wet muddy spell we had mid winter and we were dealing with the consequences.  The foot had gone somewhat backwards.  The last 3 photos in this array are June 2011, the rest are May 2011.

And the warmest of thanks to the owner for letting me share these photos.

Oh and yes, the horse is sound and apparently rather 'forward going' - not bad for a girl in her 20's! :-)


Long toe scooting forwards





Toe crack has extended




NB semi circular solar split just

above frog apex

'False' sole lifted from solar toe area



Cleaned back to bars

Note wall height now 'false' sole exfoliated. New sole is hard

Oblique view of partial clean

Cleaned and rolled

06 11 - Side view compare with 1st photo. 
Note abscess hole

06 11 - Front view post trim, note reduction in toe crack,
compare with photo 2

06 11 - Solar view post trim